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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

How to make a presentation analytical?

11 replies

Pleasehelpmoi · 04/03/2016 22:34

I need to do a presentation at university, for my final year mark (well it's actually an oral exam). It's going to be marked 50% on language (a foreign language) and 50% on content.

Does anyone know how I can make it analytical please?! This is the huge buzzword being used!

I want to do the presentation on the role of visual propaganda as a political tool in the Spanish Civil War.

OP posts:

RJnomore1 · 04/03/2016 22:38

Ok I'm sure others will have better advice but mine is not to make it descriptive - don't just explain what happened but analyse why, the reasons for it and how effective it was at meeting its aims.

JanetOfTheApes · 04/03/2016 22:38

You really need to do your own homework. And pay attention to detail, for example AIBu is entirely the wrong topic for this question, thats the kind of thing you need to pay attention to.

Original poster

Pleasehelpmoi · 04/03/2016 22:40

Thank you RJ.

Gosh how patronising of you Janet! I'm not a schoolgirl. Sorry for posting my topic in AIBU, I have three children who are still up and causing havoc around me so escaped my attention!

I'm not looking for answers; I know what I'm going to say... Just looking for advice.

OP posts:

Beckidewinter · 04/03/2016 22:45

Think about your overall position or positions on the issue/ topic/theme you are presenting. Don't just describe but cohere your reading/ideas into an argument. It helps to reframe your topic as a question..,"today I'll discuss the issue of xxx and consider the extent to which xxxx and argue/ suggest/ show that...to do this I'll first xxx then xxx and finally xxx. Ok, let's move to the first section..." I'm not suggesting this as a script but as a way to think about your information structure...

I must have watched 1,000 presentations and many are heavily focused in descriptive rambling...

Hope that makes sense (or am I guilty of descriptive rambling? Yikes!)

Original poster

Pleasehelpmoi · 04/03/2016 22:51

That is great Beckide! Thank you

I have written a good few essays in my time but presenting is something new to me!

Aibu (see what I did there Janet ) to treat it as an essay essentially, albeit with slightly different language? For some reason it helps to think of it like that.

OP posts:

Evelight · 04/03/2016 23:05

I am a part-time prof and full-time student, also presented many, many, many times.

Do not treat your presentation as an essay!

Presentations, in general, should be text-light- the last thing the audience want is for a huge chunk of text glowing at them from the screen. Also they hate being read to. So avoid standing in front of your audience, gripping a few sheets nervously, and reading rapidly. Rather, treat your presentation as an aide-memoire, albeit more sophisticated. Bullet points are the way to go- profs love them (although personally I detest them). The key thing about presentation is you should come across as really on top of your topic, and confident, without throwing a lot of context-less information at the audience.

As for analytical- I agree with the advice above- stay away from offering synopses and descriptive narrative. "Critical" is a word often used in conjunction with "analysis". throwing around the words "complex" and "layered" is also highly recommended. :) :)

Beckidewinter · 04/03/2016 23:28

I totally agree not to treat it like an essay in the sense of reading aloud from a prepared text! It is very helpful to think about your overall position etc. as you would in preparation for writing but 100% agree that the slides should be light touch and you need to talk to and not at your audience... I've always found 'taking care of your listener' a helpful way of thinking... Consider what they want/need to hear and how you can make sure it's coherent and clear...

Evelight · 05/03/2016 00:25

A presentation on visual propaganda sounds like heaven- essentially the slides of your presentation could simply consist of images of your chosen visuals, while you say stuff like "now considering the gendered stereotypes present in this poster, which align with values propagated by the fascist regime...

Kinda itching to do your presentation for you (jk, jk)

Fatmomma99 · 05/03/2016 00:31

Was going to try and offer help, but wouldn't want to patronise you.

Sure you'll be fine.

MrsSippy · 05/03/2016 00:45

I would try to look for both sides of the arguments you put forward in your presentation, so say what was gained but at what cost, or who it helped but who it jeopardised.

Also remember not to put too many words on a slide, 6 lines with 6 words per line is about right, but it's much more impressive if you can just show an image and actually talk about it.

Good luck

BillSykesDog · 05/03/2016 01:32

You've been given great advice by Evelight. Are you using PowerPoint? If so then keep the slides to the images and a few bullet points and get the meat across in what you speak about.

As far as being analytical (and apologies if this is teaching you to suck eggs, it may be) be careful that you do not fall into the trap of simply describing: analysing is actually picking out points and discussing them, not just stating them as a fact. Are there double meanings? Are the meanings ambiguous? Are they truthful? Misleading? How does the propaganda of each side compare? How did things not in the images affect how they were used as tools eg distribution, dissemination?

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